Author booed for anti-Bush remarks

( What you say should he /shouldn't he have talked politics?

Hofstra Graduation

Author booed for anti-Bush remarks


BY BART JONES
STAFF WRITER

May 24, 2004

E.L. Doctorow, one of the most celebrated writers in America, was nearly booed off the stage at Hofstra University Sunday when he gave a commencement address lambasting President George W. Bush and effectively calling him a liar.

Booing that came mainly from the crowd in the stands became so intense that Doctorow stopped speaking at one point, showing no emotion as he stood silently and listened to the jeers. Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz intervened, and called on the audience to allow him to finish. He did, although some booing persisted.

Doctorow, who spent virtually all of his 20-minute address in Hempstead criticizing Bush, told the crowd that like himself the president is a storyteller. But "sadly they are not good stories this president tells," he said. "They are not good stories because they are not true." That line provoked the first boos, along with scattered cheers.

"One story he told was that the country of Iraq had nuclear and biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction and was intending shortly to use them on us," he said. "That was an exciting story all right, it was designed to send shivers up our spines. But it was not true.

snip-

Some parents and relatives of the more than 1,300 undergraduates were livid over the address, saying afterward that a college graduation was not the place for a political speech. "If this would have happened in Florida, we would have taken him out" of the stadium, said Frank Mallafre, who traveled from Miami for his granddaughter's graduation.

snip-

Some Hofstra professors said Doctorow was on target in discussing the war. "I thought this was a totally appropriate place to talk about politics because that's the world our students are entering," said sociology professor Cynthia Bogard. "I only wish their parents had provided them a better role model."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidoc0524,0,3373724,print.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

I'm sick of people saying that politics shouldn't be talked about because this is an election year.

glad he spoke his piece. Good on him.

While it isn't necessary for a commencement speaker to give a rose-colored outlook to graduating seniors, when all is said and done a graduation ceremony should still be about the GRADUATES, not the speaker.

There are ways in which the speaker could have urged the graduates to be critical thinkers, to seek out the truth for themselves, to adopt the idea that intellectual pursuit and critical analysis are often more important than the pursuit of money for its own sake, etc. It appears from this account, however, that Mr. Doctorow seized this opportunity to use the forum as an airing of his own political views, thus taking the focus off the graduates and putting it on himself.

It's bad when Dick Cheney does it in order to bash Kerry, and it's bad when someone does it to just bash Bush too.

And their unplanned 2 years in the Army.

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Are you kidding me? Since when does Presidential politics have nothing to do with graduating? These people are going out into the world work force and need to be aware of the realities of the world. The leaders have major influence and graduates need to be aware of that fact. Especially when it is all based upon lies.

They will remember the speech as very appropriate.

..and wanted to hear a lot of fluff about going forth into the world and conquering it, not a slap in the face of the reality Junior will face with a perverted moron who stole his way into power controlling his fate.

I'd like to know who the boos came from, a lot of them or just a few loudmouthed drunken ignoramuses. I don't suppose the news will enlighten us on that point.

my take is no - its wrong. Sorry.

Yeah, the crimes of Bush are monumental and Clinton's were entirely personal, moral issues, manufactured by a truly vast RW conspiracy. It is still political and a matter of opinion until there are charges leveled. E.L. would've been better served to continue with his essays.

My sister was graduating. The riech wingers couldn't handle the truth. They started booing. The crowd was mixed, but the anti-war people weren't ready to make a statement, especially infront of some nasty people. I chimed into a couple of these wingers, but i kept it civil. I yelled out in one direction: "I guess you don't appreciate the first amendment." That shut someone up temporarily. The guy behind me said something. I told him: "The truth hurts huh?" I really tried not to get into it. Some winger was yelling go to Iraq. I wanted to tell him that all these kids are going when they get drafted next year, but I didn't want to start.

He could have gotten the point across without ever mentioning Bush by name--and still have been political and scathing. Somehow, Jon Stewart managed to be witty and scathing without getting booed.

should be left out of graduation ceremonies.

Probably the last time most of them will hear the truth, until it's too late.

but I didn't hear them mention this in the brief time I got to listen to it.

Shouldn't talk politics in front of a captive audience.

If mom and dad dn't agree to hearing this speech on tv, they can change the channel. In the local civic center they can walk out, but it's not fair telling someone that if they don't want to hear this guys opinion they should walk out of their kid's or grandkid's graduation.

It should be about the graduates. Wrong place for politics.

Bush has an applause squad that sets up events like this. When they know an anti-Bush speaker will be at a certain event, they pepper the crowd with cheer leaders, or in this case, boo leaders.

Listen to every speech Bush makes, and especially to the snippits the media plays. Bush makes some fatuous comment, and a sudden deafening burst of applause and cheers breaks out spontaneously. Somehow, this burst is always next to the microphones of the media, and if you listen to them, you'll hear the exact same whoops and patterns each time.

It's a setup. Hitler did it, Rove loves to imitate Hitler. They did it to Moore at the Oscars last year. They do it for every military speech W makes. It's also an old tactic a lot of comedy clubs use. A couple of laughs, or boos, and the audience is spurred along.

As for whether this is the right place, of course it is. Politics should be the duty of every citizen, and the more educated someone is, the more they should be encouraged to get involved. We need more discussion of politics in this country, not less. Too many people are willing to be silent to prevent argument or unpleasant discussion. Meanwhile, our nation is committing genocide, and everyone of us, whether we approve or not, is benefitting from it and paying for it. That's exactly the type of thing college grads need to understand, to be introduced to, so they can make up their own minds.

The last thing any grad wants to hear is another "Fork in the road, future looks bright" speech. They've had enough sunshine blown up their wazoos by graduation time. Time for a little substance.

..but their parents!

I don't give a damn whether or not they liked the subject matter, their behavior was disgraceful even for a hockey crowd.

Shame on them!